And welcome to live coverage of the second Twenty20 of seven and the second of four in Karachi during the white-ball segment of England’s first tour of Pakistan for 17 years. Although they needed 116 balls to chase down Pakistan’s rather modest score on Tuesday, victory, at least after Babar Azam’s dismissal by Adil Rashid, did not seem in any significant doubt… and the thoroughbred Harry Brook took them home.
All the criticism of the Pakistan captain before the match seemed misplaced – his problem isn’t his strike rate at the top of the order, it’s the inability of the middle order to spin or even read Rashid. As they gave the impression of walking through a glue trap after the Powerplay, England’s fastest bowler Luke Wood felled them.
Richard Gleeson struggled with a back problem in the first game and is likely to start today, giving England a chance to assess how Olly Stone’s rehabilitation is going or give Tom Helm his debut. Both can replicate Gleeson’s pace which, given the barrenness of the pitch, will be necessary if they decide not to try Liam Dawson as a third spinner in the face of Pakistan’s struggles against Moeen and Rashid. Jos Buttler, Mark Wood, Chris Woakes and Reece Topley may not feature until the three games in Lahore… if at all.
There is also talk of batting rotation, with Will Jacks or Jordan Cox potentially replacing Ben Duckett, who did well in his recollection with 21 off 17 balls, but may be destined to play just two or three times in the tour because England want to give equal opportunities to each of their three middle-order prospects who are not part of the World T20 squad.
As for Pakistan, I’d like to see Aamer Jamal make his debut – he’s a batsman who can score consistently at a strike rate of over 150, while Mohammad Hasnain, their 90mph third man, should replace Naseem Shah, who he seemed to have a very muddled approach in the first T20, ignoring his blistering natural assets for a certain Dernbachian obsession with slower balls disguised artlessly.